Nail set and driver



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fi afia/a F 6054 55s ATTORNEYS 3,521,398 Patented July 21, 1970 3,521,398 NAIL SET AND DRIVER Harold Y. Coutts, 304 Pine St., Burlington, Iowa 52601 Filed May 8, 1968, Ser. No. 727,488 Int. Cl. B25c 7/00 US. Cl. 227-149 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A driver has a bore formed therein, and an anvil is slidably positioned within said bore and engageable with the driver. The lower end of the anvil has an outer surface which tapers downwardly and inwardly, and a plurality of nail holding portions are dis-posed about the lower end of the anvil, these portions having at the lower ends thereof inwardly extending jaws for engaging the stem of a nail. The upper ends of the nail holding portions are engageable with a shoulder on the anvil to limit downward movement of the nail engaging portion. A spring member is disposed about the nail engaging portions and normally biases the upper parts thereof inwardly toward one another. The nail holding portions are slidable along the lower end of the anvil.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a nail set and driver which provides a simple and effective means for holding and positioning nails, tacks and the like so that they can be set and driven into place in cramped and inaccessible locations.

In many cases wherein it is desired to drive a nail, tack and the like, the space is so limited that it is difiicult if not impossible to set and drive a nail with a hammer or the like in the usual manner. Accordingly, various devices have been employed in the prior art for setting nails in such applications.

Where the location is relatively inaccessible, it is ditficult to securely hold the nail in place until it has been properly set, and then of course it is a further problem to drive the nail into final position. Where one cannot insert ones fingers to hold a nail or the like in place, it is nescessary to employ some means for properly holding the nail. Magnetic nail set devices have been employed in the prior art, but these devices will not firmly hold the nail in place while it is being set, thereby allowing the nail to enter at an undesired angle. Additionally, magnetic nail set devices are not operative with aluminum or other magnetic materials.

A further problem with conventional nail set devices is the fact that the device often does not properly release the nail or the like when the nail has been driven into operative position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In the present invention, a self-contained device is provided which enables a nail to be properly held in position and then subsequently driven into its final operative relationship.

Nail holding means is provided which securely holds a nail in place when the nail is being initially set. This nail holding means is mounted for relative movement with respect to the supporting anvil of the device, and the anvil is provided with a tapered out surface such that when a nail is driven into place, the nail holding means moves upwardly along such tapered surface and will be effectively cammed outwardly so as to allow the nail to be driven into its final operative position.

This novel arrangement enables the apparatus to effectively hold the nail in place until it has been properly set, and then the nail holding means will be automatically moved away from the nail when it is no longer needed and out of the way so that the nail can be driven all the way into the desired position.

The device of the present invention is small and compact, yet sturdy and efficient in use. The device is ideal for working in close quarters and substantially reduces the time and effort required in setting and driving nails in areas where limited access is afforded.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of a nail set and driver according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially along line 22 of FIG. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the components in a different operative position.

DESCRIPTION OE THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring now to the drawings wherein like reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, a driver means 10 is provided with a bore 12 formed therein, the bore terminating at the wall 14 at the upper part of the driver, and the opposite end 16 of the bore being open.

An anvil means is indicated generally by reference numeral 20 and includes a substantially cylindrical shank portion 22 which terminates in an enlarged head portion 24 which is also of generally cylindrical configuration and is snugly fitted for slidable movement within the bore 12 of the driver means.

It will be noted that the shank portion 22 of the anvil means is of reduced diameter so as to provide a clearance with a wall portion of the bore 12 of the driver means. A retaining means 28 in the form of a snap ring is disposed within a suitable peripheral groove provided within the driver means in surrounding relationship to bore 12, this snap ring serving to prevent the anvil means from being completely withdrawn from the bore of the driver means.

The lower part of the anvil means is enlarged and defines a support surface means in the form of a shoulder 30 extending peripherally about the anvil means, this shoulder tapering downwardly and inwardly as clearly seen in FIGS. 2 and 4.

The anvil means is provided with an outer surface 32 adjacent to and immediately below the shoulder 30, this outer surface 32 tapering downwardly and inwardly of the anvil means and being of substantially frustoconical configuration.

The outer surface 32 then joins with an outer surface portion 34 at the lower end of the anvil which is substantially cylindrical. The bottom surface 36 of the anvil means is flat and is adapted to engage the head 40 of a nail including a stem portion 42. In the position shown in FIG. 2, a nail is retained in operative position by the device ready for setting and driving into a suitable membet.

The nail holding means of the present invention includes a plurality of portions shown as being three in number, although it is apparent that the number of nail engaging portions may be varied as desired. The three nail engaging portions 50, 52 and 54 have formed at the lower ends thereof inwardly extending nail engaging jaws 56, 58 and 60 respectively, the innermost ends of which are arcuate and engage the outer periphery of the stem 42 of the nail as seen most clearly in FIG. 3.

The three portions 50, 52 and S4 of the nail holding means also include integral struck-out fingers 64, 66 and 68 respectively disposed adjacent the upper ends thereof. These three fingers serve to support an annular coil spring 70 disposed about the portions of the nail holding means and in the operative position illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 4, it is apparent that this spring means resiliently biases the upper ends of the various portions of the nail holding means inwardly toward one another.

The upper ends 80, 82 and 84 of the nail holding portions 50, 52 and 54 respectively extend inwardly and downwardly, these upper ends of the nail holding portions being adapted to engage the shoulder 30 formed on the anvil means.

FIG. 2 of the drawings illustrates the initial position of the components wherein a nail is held in place with respect to the device. The portions 50, 52 and 54 of the nail holding means are disposed at their lowermost positions. The upper ends of the nail holding portions are engaged with the shoulder 30, and spring 70 biases the nail holding portions inwardly against .the lower part of the anvil into the operative position illustrated.

With the components in the position shown in FIG. 2, the device is ready for operation. When the nail is disposed in the proper position for driving, the driver means 10 is reciprocated with respect to the anvil means, and the upper wall 14 is driven downwardly into engagement with the upper surface of the enlarged head 24 of the anvil means to drive the anvil and the associated nail downwardly.

As the nail is driven into a suitable member, the jaws 56, 58 and 60 of the nail holding portions will engage the surface of the member into which the nail is being driven, and the nail holding portions will be urged upwardly with respect to the lower part of the anvil means.

As the nail holding portions move upwardly, the spring means will move above the shoulder 30 formed on the anvil means. When the spring is so disposed as shown in FIG. 4, the upper ends of the nail engaging portions will be urged inwardly so as to bias the lower ends of the nail engaging portions outwardly away from the stem of the nail. Since the nail is by this time already firmly set in place, it is no longer necessary for the jaws of the nail holding portions to engage the stern of the nail.

The nail holding portions will continue to move upwardly until the position is reached as shown in FIG. 4 wherein the nail has been driven into its final position. According, it is apparent that the nail holding portions will not interfere with the nail or the like being driven into its final operative position, the nail holding portions described.

After the components have reached the position shown in FIG. 4, the device is ready for receiving another nail. When a new nail is placed in operative position relative to the lower end of the anvil means, the nail engaging form their functional as well as conjointly cooperative equivalents are therefore intended to be embraced by those claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A nail set and driver comprising driver means, anvil means, said driver means being movably interconnected with said anvil means and engageable therewith, nail holding means for engaging and holding a portion of a nail, said nail holding means being supported by said anvil means and being movable with respect thereto, said nail holding means comprising a plurality of portions disposed about the lower part of said anvil means.

2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said driver means has a bore therein opening at one end of said driver means, said anvil means being slidably positioned within said bore, and means for retaining said anvil means within said bore.

3. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said anvil means includes support surface means engaging said nail holding means for supporting said nail holding means in operative position.

4. Apparatus as defined in claim 3 wherein said support surface means comprises a peripheral shoulder means formed around a lower part of said anvil means.

5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein the lower part of said anvil means includes an outer surface portion tapering downwardly and inwardly of said anvil means.

6. Apparatus as defined in claim 5 wherein said tapered outer surface is substantially frusto-conical in configuration, said anvil means having a peripheral shoulder disposed therearound for engaging a portion of said nail holding means, said tapered outer surface of the anvil means being disposed adjacent to and below said shoulder means.

7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein each of said plurality of portions of said nail holding means includes a nail engaging jaw formed at the lower end thereof and extending inwardly of the apparatus.

8. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said anvil means has support surface means disposed thereon, the upper end portions of each of said plurality of portions of the nail holding means extending inwardly and engaging said support surface means. 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said anvil means has on outer surface at the lower part thereof which tapers downwardly and inwardly of the anvil means, each of said plurality of portions of the nail holding means including holding means for supporting a biasing means with respect thereto, said biasing means normally urging the upper parts of each of said portions of the nail holding means inwardly toward one another.

10. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said hold ing means comprises a finger extending from each of said portions of the nail holding means, said biasing means comprising spring means being supported by said finger and engaging each of said plurality of portions of the nail holding means.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,061,835 11/1962 Hain 227149 XR 3,134,981 6/1964 Demetrakopoulos et al. 227-149 GRANVILLE Y. CUSTER, JR., Primary Examiner 

